News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-04-28
FROM WASHINGTON.
IFrom our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, D. c.,
Anril 10. 1887.

! lay IN bed, and the Nlce-PreSldent wa
attacked but escaped. These wer'
the foulest and most foolish blowt
dealt in behalf of the confederacy a
any time, and they reacted at once tx
the harm Of the South. The 13tl
of April, 1865, would be good day
historically speaking, for Americans
to forget.
The National Drill to take place il
Washington next month promises &c
be a grand affair, and visitors from
all parts of the country have already
engaged rooms at the city hotels. The
color line crisis has been safely passed
and the smoke it occasioned has
blown away. Only three companies,
the Montgomery True Blues and
Greys and the Atlanta Rifles have
withdrawn, while the vacancies were
more than filled at once by the admis-
sion of additional troops from other
parts. Two companies in Texas,
two in Mississippi and one in North
Carolina made inquiries about the par
ticipation of colored militia, but they
have not announced their withdrawal.
The only colored companies which
applied for entry were two of the reg
ular organized militia of Virginia and
one from this city. Fortunately the
prejudice against having them COM
pete for the prizes is confined to a
few recalcitrants whose succession
will not affect the success of the drill
in the least. This kind Of bourbon
ism it was hoped had entirely disap-
peared. Colored companies form a
part of the militia in nearly every
State, and no gathering of militia
could be national in any sense from
which the colored element was eX-
cluded. And if the colored troops
out-drill the white ones, then the
latter will see wherein they ought to
improve. A popular comment upon
the course of the affronted Southern
ers who preferred to back out rather
than contest with colored military
was that they were a good many
years behind the times. There is no
social feature connected with the
matter at all.
Those who mourn the fall into
inocuous desuetude of the usages and
observances of We olden time should
have seen the White House grounds
on last Monday. 1t was Easter
Monday, you know, and an ancient
custom has given the greensward to
the children on that day for their egg
festival. At noon it was roughly es-
timated that there could not be less
than 1000 Juvenile egg-rollers on the
The President and his house
hold saw the sport from the rear win
dow, and when the hour for his tri-
weekly reception arrived, hundreds of
festive little folks poured into the
East Room and grasped the Presiden-
tial hand. While inside the house they
continued their outdoor fun Of crack
ing eggs until the carpets were cover
ed with egg-shells much to the disgust
of the White House employees. The
children also pushed ard pinched and
iammed and scrambled around in the
crowded room to such an extent of
disorder that the ng-sufering ushers,
who have done brave duty at all sorts
of receptions, said they never saw any
thing like it before.
Mr.. Dorman B. Eaton, the late
head of the Civil Service Commission.
has been lecturing here on the virtues
of Civil Service Reform. His subject
would not seem to be a popular one,
judging from the disappointing size of
his audience however. The ex-com-
missioner, who thinks the success of
Civil Service has been fully proved,
devoted some time to showing why an
efficient employe Of the Government
should not be removed on account of
his politics, and drew vivid picture
of the practical slavery Of federal
office holder and the decentralization
of the service under the spoils re-
gime, which, he said, imperiled the
safety of our institutions.
The lecturer argued Improvement
in the service in a very clear manner
and made the most of the fact that ev-
cry member of President Arthur's
Cabinet and of President Cleveland's
indorsed the law. 1t was not a par
tisan measure, he said, for both parties
took an active part in its passage.
He was still sufficient of a Republican,
though to believe there was a stronger
element in favor of reform within that
party than no the other side if he did
not think so he would not remain in it.